IDF says Hamas operative killed in first Gaza airstrike in over a week

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

The Israeli military said it struck and killed a Hamas commander in the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, the first Israeli airstrike in the territory in more than a week, breaking a lull that had taken hold as the US-backed Board of Peace presses its plan for the disarmament of the war-torn enclave and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.

The Hamas-affiliated civil defense agency said that one person was killed, while several who were injured in the strike in the Beit Lahiya area were taken to a Gaza City hospital.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed carrying out the strike, saying it targeted a Hamas commander who was planning an attack on troops.

The operative was planning attacks on forces in northern Gaza, and he was targeted in an airstrike “to remove the threat to the forces,” the IDF said, publishing footage of the strike. It did not identify the target of the strike by name.

The incident took place a day after the military said it targeted a terror operative who posed an “immediate threat” to troops.

The IDF said that the Hamas sniper was spotted by troops of the 99th Division near the so-called “Yellow Line” that divides the Strip between Israeli and Hamas control.

“Immediately after the identification, the troops fired toward [the operative] to remove the threat,” the IDF said, adding that a “hit was identified.”

צה"ל תקף ראש חוליה מארגון הטרור חמאס בצפון רצועת עזה שתכנן לבצע מתווי טרור נגד כוחות צה"ל*

צה"ל תקף לפני זמן קצר ראש חוליה מארגון הטרור חמאס בצפון רצועת עזה.

המחבל תכנן להוציא לפועל מתווי טרור נגד כוחות צה"ל הפועלים ברצועת עזה. המחבל הותקף מהאוויר לצורך הסרת האיום על הכוחות.… pic.twitter.com/GH8kSiiYuv

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) August 12, 2026

Israeli strikes in the enclave have become rare in recent weeks, after the military tightened its policy on “targeted eliminations.”

Strikes that are conducted for any purpose other than removing an immediate threat must now receive prior approval from IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Israeli security sources said last week. Previously, they only required approval from Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor or various division commanders operating in the Strip.

The IDF has continued to operate against targets it identifies as posing an immediate threat to troops, and insists that the rules of engagement have not changed.

The army said in a statement on Wednesday that “there is no change to the rules of engagement, which require every IDF soldier to neutralize any immediate threat, wherever it may be.”

“There is also no change in the deployment of forces in the sector or in control of the Yellow Line,” the IDF added.

In the statement, the military said it received information that Hamas was carrying out a military drill in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday night, leading it to improve intelligence-gathering and attack capabilities. However, no terror operatives were actually identified at any stage, according to the IDF.

The IDF’s statement came after Channel 12 news reported on Tuesday night that the military “identified unusual activity by terrorists” in the Strip, but “did not respond with an attack.”

Yisrael Beytenu chair Avigdor Liberman earlier on Wednesday claimed that “IDF troops identified a training exercise by approximately 50 terrorists from the [elite Hamas] Nukhba Force who practiced raiding and occupying a Jewish settlement.”

He claimed that “IDF commanders in the field wanted to act immediately to target all terrorists, but the directive from the political echelon was: ‘You don’t touch anyone, don’t even fire a single shot.’”

The reduction in airstrikes and targeted eliminations across the Gaza Strip has unfolded after US President Donald Trump announced last month that there had been a breakthrough in his peace plan for the Gaza Strip, in the form of a 15-point proposal for the IDF to withdraw and Hamas to hand over its weapons and transfer governance of Gaza to a Palestinian-led technocratic committee.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he rejected the terms of the proposal, saying Israel would not withdraw from the enclave until Hamas is “genuinely disarmed.”

Nevertheless, IDF soldiers told Channel 12 on Monday that the rules of engagement have changed dramatically since the disarmament roadmap was publicized, suggesting that there are quiet agreements with the US-backed board to drastically rein in operations.

For example, The Times of Israel reported that the IDF had halted a special operation to hunt down and kill every person involved in the October 7, 2023, massacre, which began the war in Gaza.

On Tuesday night, the military said it fired shots at several Palestinians the previous night after they crossed the Yellow Line and stole plastic pipes used by the army for engineering activity.

The incident took place some 3.5 kilometers (2 miles) deep into the Strip.

The IDF said that during operations near the Yellow Line, “several plastic pipes intended for engineering activities were left behind.”

Later, troops spotted several Palestinians approaching the area and fired warning shots to disperse them, the army said.

However, it said that “no hit was identified” and the suspects managed to steal several pipes.

“The incident was investigated, and lessons were learned,” the military said, adding that “any approach to the Yellow Line is met with warning fire toward the suspects in accordance with the rules of engagement.”

Meanwhile, as discussions over the plan continue, the Haaretz daily reported earlier this week that Jerusalem was still holding the bodies of roughly 1,700 Palestinians — most of them apparently from Gaza and some of whom were not involved in any attacks on Israelis.

Citing two sources familiar with the matter, Haaretz said the bodies are being used as bargaining chips for future hostage negotiations, even though Hamas no longer holds any Israeli captives.

The vast majority of the bodies belong to Palestinian terrorists who took part in the October 7, 2023, onslaught in Israel, Haaretz said, but some were uninvolved and are not believed to have attacked any Israelis. Thirteen of the bodies were reportedly Israeli citizens.

The policy has the backing of Shin Bet chief David Zini and the IDF, the report said, but has faced pushback from the Shin Bet’s legal adviser, who has argued that Israel has no legal justification for holding onto the bodies of Palestinians not involved in attacks.

The IDF says that it won’t comment on internal deliberations, and the Shin Bet declined to comment on the matter.

Times of Israel staff and agencies contributed to this report.

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